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Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1986 




Company Towns Versus Company 
Camps in Developing Alaska's 
Mineral Resources 




By Robert Bottge 






UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 




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Information Circular 9107 
// 



,r 



Company Towns Versus Company 
Camps in Developing Alaska's 
Mineral Resources 



By Robert Bottge 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
Donald Paul Hodel, Secretary 

BUREAU OF MINES 
Robert C. Horton, Director 



i.iiinni—uiinmaili.lllJManra 







o 



1 



^ 



Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 



Bottge, Robert. 

Company towns versus company camps in developing Alaska's 
mineral resources. 



(Information circular; 9107) 

Bibliography: p. 5 

Supt. of Docs, no.: I 28.27: 9107 



1. Miners — Alaska — Housing. 2. Industrial housing — Alaska. 3. Mineral indus- 
tries — Alaska — Employees — Housing. 4. Company towns — Alaska. I. Title. II. Company 
camps in developing Alaska's mineral resources. III. Series; Information circular (United 
States. Bureau of Mines); 9107. 



TN295.U4 622 s 

[HD7289.5.M5982U53] 



[307.7'67'097981 



86-600228 



CONTENTS 



Page 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 2 

Company towns 2 

Company camps 2 

The commuting option 2 

Economic considerations 3 

Hypothetical underground mine example 3 

Hypothetical open-pit mine example 4 



Page 

Conclusions 5 

References 5 

Appendix A. — Capital costs 6 

Appendix B. — Operating costs 9 

Appendix C. — Estimating the work force size .... 11 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

A-l. Alaska capital cost factors back pocket 

A-2. Townsite costs versus total employees, 1984 dollars 7 

A-3. Campsite costs versus total employees, 1984 dollars 8 

C-l. Total employees versus daily tonnage in cut-and-fill mining 12 

C-2. Total employees versus daily tonnage in blasthole mining 13 

C-3. Total employees versus daily tonnage in open-stope mining 14 

C-4. Total employees versus daily tonnage in long-hole mining 15 

C-5. Total employees versus daily tonnage in shrinkage-stope mining 16 

C-6. Total employees versus daily tonnage in room-and-pillar mining 17 

C-7. Total employees versus daily tonnage in open-pit mining 18 



TABLES 

1. Mine assumptions 3 

2. Capital and annual costs and required copper prices by region for a 1,000-st/d underground mine 4 

3. Capital and annual costs and required copper prices by region for a 50,000-st/d open-pit mine 4 

C-l. Cut-and-fill mining data 12 

C-2. Blasthole mining data 13 

C-3. Open-stope mining data 14 

C-4. Long-hole mining data 15 

C-5. Shrinkage-stope mining data 16 

C-6. Room-and-pillar mining data 17 

C-7. Open-pit mining data 18 

C-8. Estimate of mine and mill personnel by type of mining 19 



I IW WH I M IH 



■•"'-—-"' ■ mlMHMIIIUHMlllMUMIIIll 



UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT 


d/wk 


day per week 


St 


short ton 


h 


hour 


st/d 


short ton per day 


h/d 


hour per day 


yr 


year 



COMPANY TOWNS VERSUS COMPANY CAMPS IN DEVELOPING 
ALASKA'S MINERAL RESOURCES 



By Robert Bottge 1 



ABSTRACT 



When a company develops a mineral property in a remote area of Alaska, it must 
consider how best to house its personnel. This Bureau of Mines report examines the 
economics of two options: company towns and company camps. The price required to 
maintain a 15% discounted-cash-flow rate of return (DCFROR) was derived for 
hypothetical 1,000-st/d cut-and-fill mines and 50,000-st/d open-pit mines located in 
three different regions of the State. One set of hypothetical mines utilizes a townsite; 
the other utilizes a relatively new concept, a fly-in camp or commuting operation, in 
which two shifts of employees operate the mine and all associated facilities for 1 week 
before being replaced by a second crew. 

The study shows that operating costs were higher for mines employing the 
commuting option than for mines having a company town because of the additional 
wages paid for overtime hours; however, the price required to obtain a 15% DCFROR 
for the single-product copper concentrate, f.o.b. the mill site, was significantly lower 
owing to the lower investment costs for the camp-type operation. The economic 
advantage for those mines utilizing the camp increases from south to north and from 
the coast toward the interior. 



'Mineral economist, Alaska Field Operations Center, Bureau of Mines, Juneau, AK. 



INTRODUCTION 



The development of mineral deposits in Alaska 
usually involves the need to provide living accommoda- 
tions for employees. The options range from constructing a 
camp for which the company provides room and board to 
building a townsite which is administered by the company 
with housing for single people as well as those with 
families. The capital cost of providing housing for 
personnel in remote areas must be weighed against the 
operating costs inherent with each option. If the company 
operates only during the summer, it will likely opt for 
mobile bunkhouse units. However, if the company mines 
year-round, it may want to consider a different set of 
options. This report explores two housing options avail- 
able for long-term permanent mining operations and 
analyzes the impact of each on the total cost of two mining 
ventures in three regions of the State. 



A computerized costing system was used for develop- 
ing cost data. The system developed for the Bureau of 
Mines was designed to estimate capital and operating 
costs within ± 25% of actual costs for the 48 contiguous 
States (3). 2 For Alaska, the costs were modified to reflect 
higher local costs. While the exact values determined by 
the model should be viewed cautiously, this method seems 
reasonable for the purpose of comparing the cost of the 
housing options explored here. 

For determining the price required to obtain a 15% 
discounted cash flow rate of return (DCFROR) for each 
mining scenario, a second computer program developed by 
the Bureau of Mines was utilized. The Mine Simulation 
Program (MINSIM8) 3 was capable of handling all data 
input without modification. 



COMPANY TOWNS 



Company towns are those communities in which 75% 
of the work force serves a single industry and its 
supporting companies (25). Commonly the towns are 
associated with resource-based or transportation-related 
industries involved in mining and smelting ore, cutting 
and processing trees, processing pulp and paper, or 
building, maintaining or servicing railroads. 

Though the resource that motivates their creation 
will eventually be exhausted, many mine-related towns 
may be viewed as relatively permanent. However, when 
the projected mine life is less than 30 yr and the location is 
remote, the company often is compelled to build apart- 
ments or homes for its employees which it then rents to 
them, generally at a nominal fee. It must also provide 
schools, churches, a community center, streets, sewers, 
water, electricity, telephones, landscaping, stores, offices, 
and a hotel. Once the town is built, the company must 



operate and maintain all these facilities. In addition to 
running the mine and mill complex, the mine manager or 
superintendent also assumes final responsibility for the 
townsite. 

The newer towns tend to be more isolated, more 
technologically intensive, and more carefully planned, 
and to have more government participation in community 
development (12). Tumbler Ridge, BC, Canada, exem- 
plifies this new movement in town conception and 
development. Here, the Province of British Columbia has 
created an autonomous townsite to serve two new coal 
mines that are operated by a private company (8). Because 
an incorporated town might be eligible for government 
funds for such municipal services as schools, fire protec- 
tion, hospitals, sewers, and water, the company's financial 
burden may be lower than if it had to provide these 
services itself. 



COMPANY CAMPS 



Camps differ from townsites in one principal way: 
while a townsite usually has a mix of single and married 
people housed in dormitories, apartments, mobile units, 
houses, and multifamily structures, a camp usually 
consists of either portable or permanent structures for 
housing working employees only. Housing facilities in a 
small company may consist of a bunkhouse for sleeping all 
employees and another unit for preparing and serving 



meals; larger companies may provide a number of 
bedrooms to sleep four to six employees off a central living 
area. Still larger companies may provide dormitories with 
a number of bedrooms off a corridor leading to a recreation 
room, dining room, and laundry. The number of square 
feet of living space varies with the company and the 
longevity of the project. 



THE COMMUTING OPTION 



Historically, company-run camps were in remote 
locations. Wages were high to entice employees, usually 
men, to work there. But turnover was high and the 
employees left as they accumulated a "nestegg," com- 
pleted a contracted work tour, found employment closer to 
their homes, were lonely for their families, or just drifted 
on. 



In an attempt to stabilize the workforce in remote 
locations and lower operating costs, companies operating 
in northern Canada have introduced a number of 



2 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references 
preceding appendix A. 

3 Further information on MINSIM8 may be obtained by contacting the 
Division of Minerals Availability, Bureau of Mines, Washington, DC. 



commuting options. Employees are brought to a remote 
site at company expense, work a relatively short, 
predetermined work schedule, and then are returned to a 
home location. A number of scenarios have been im- 
plemented, including seven 12-h days at the work site and 
seven days at home (called seven on-seven off or 
seven-twelves), 20 days on and 10 days off, 30 days on and 
14 days off, and 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off (13). The results of 
the various programs indicate that the shorter the work 
period, the lower the turnover rate (13). 

In Alaska, the oil industry in Cook Inlet has long 
worked its platform employees 12-h days, 7 days on and 7 
off. The same work schedule has been followed for the 



oil-related activities on the North Slope and the Trans- 
Alaska pipeline pump stations. At the Polaris Mine on 
Little Cornwallis Island, NT, Canada, "southerns" work 
10 weeks on and 2 weeks off while the Native Inuit work 
either that schedule or 6 weeks on and 4 weeks off (20). In 
other Canadian mines, the system of seven on-seven off is 
often employed (4, 9, 14). Chenard said the seven on-seven 
off system seemed the most suitable for everybody 
involved (6). Cominco, Ltd., is planning to implement a 
commuting program for its employees at the Red Dog 
Mine in northwestern Alaska during the projected 50-yr 
life of the mine (2). 



ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS 



Labor is a major cost in any mining venture, and 
labor turnover reduces efficiency and raises operating 
costs. While the fly-in or commuting option is not a 
panacea for all remote mining ventures, it does provide 
some benefits for the company and for its personnel. 
Employees receive large paychecks and large blocks of 
time off to spend with their families or for other activities. 
The company tends to attract more mature, family- 
oriented people who give the company stability, good 
performance, fewer accidents, less absenteeism and lower 
turnover. (3). The company's capital costs for the venture 
are lower because it does not have to build, manage, and 
maintain a remote townsite. 

To measure the impact of each housing option on the 
total economic picture for a mining venture, two types of 
mines are proposed in three geographically different parts 
of Alaska: Southeast, South-Central, and North-Central. 
An underground cut-and-fill operation producing 1,000 
st/d and a 50,000-st/d open-pit mine are examined with 
the fly-in or commuting option and with the townsite 
option. 

HYPOTHETICAL UNDERGROUND MINE 
EXAMPLE 

The assumptions for the three cut-and-fill mining 
scenarios were essentially the same (table 1). Major cost 
differences occurred with the different regional locations. 
Capital and operating costs for the mines, concentrators, 
and town or camp sites increased from south to north and 
from coastal to interior locations. Regional capital and 
operating costs are discussed in some detail in appendixes 
A and B. 

Major differences in capital and operating costs 
occurred with the choice of a town or camp site. For the 
townsite scenario, 428 people were required to fill the 102 
positions in the mine (358 employees) and the concentra- 
tor (70 employees) for the three 8-h shifts each day. 
Appendix C discusses the number of employees likely to 
be employed in six types of underground mines and in 
open-pit mining. 

A commuter campsite required 204 people for each 
week's crew (171 in the mine and 33 at the concentrator). 
Because each crew worked 1 week and was off 1 week, a 
total of 408 people was required. The difference in the 
total of 428 people for a townsite and 408 for a campsite 
was due to the number of hours worked; townsite 



employees worked 8 h/d, 5 d/wk, and campsite employees 
worked 12 h/d, 7 d/wk. Both the mine and the concentrator 
in the townsite and campsite operations were assumed to 
run 7 d/wk. The town would have to be large enough to 
house a pool of additional employees equal to 20% of the 
work force to fill in for those people on annual and sick 
leave, or in training, or for those who had quit. For the 
camp option, the towns and villages surrounding the point 
of embarkation would house the excess people for the mine 
and concentrator. 

The townsite not only had more employees, but each 
employee could be expected to add anywhere from 0.7 to 
1.8 additional people to the townsite, depending upon how 
strongly the company encouraged families to live there. In 
January and February 1982, the town of Faro, YT, 
Canada, had 2,128 people when the Anvil Mining Co. had 
767 direct employees, a ratio of 2.77:1 (11). In 1973, the 
town of Clinton Creek, YT, Canada, had 515 people living 



TABLE 1 . — Mine assumptions 






Underground 




Open-pit 


Assumptions 


cut-and-fill mine 




mine 




Town 


Camp 


Town 


Camp 


Total employees, mine . . . 


358 


171 


428 


204 


Total employees, 










concentrator 


70 


33 


378 


180 


Work tours, hours per 










week 


40 


84 


40 


84 


Type of ore deposit 




Copper 




Copper 


Reserves st . . 


5,20C.'X>: 


345.iJ0u.0Cii! 


Ore grade % . . 




5 




0.5 


Mining rate, ore . . st/d . . 




1,000 




35,000 


Mining rate, waste st/d . . 









15,000 


Mine life yr . . 




15 




30 


Mine-mill operating 










efficiency % . . 




90 




90 


Ore recovery % . . 




95 




100 


Mine locations were 










remote from major cities 




Yes 




Yes 


Ground transportation 










connected mine to 










supply sources 




Yes 




Yes 


All price determinations 










were at the mine site 










before smelter and 










refining charges and 










transportation costs . . . 




Yes 




Yes 


15%DCFRORon 










investment was 










assumed 




Yes 




Yes 


Straight-line depreciation 










was used on all items . 




Yes 




Yes 


Standard State and 










Federal taxes were 










assumed 




Yes 




Yes 



iwtTw i nn i mm mmwiii ii i i wii 



i nii«MiwiMffi« « «i^^ 



at the site of the Clinton Mine Division of Cassiar 
Asbestos Corp., Ltd., which had 296 direct employees, a 
ratio of 1.74:1 (5). In this report a ratio of 2.66:1 was 
arbitrarily chosen, which meant that the townsite 
contained 1,150 people. A ratio of 2.66:1 indicated that the 
company's policy was to encourage workers with families 
to settle in the town and stabilize the work force. 

A townsite for 1,150 people cost considerably more 
than a campsite for 204, not only because of the physical 
size of the town, but also because of the need for larger 
diesel electric generators, domestic water facilities, fire 
protection, shopping and recreational areas, etc. On the 
other hand, the campsite cost more to operate. The 
difference was in the salaries. Personnel in the town 
worked five 8-h days per week; camp employees worked 
seven 12-h days, which included 44 h of overtime per 
week. 

Table 2 summarizes capital and annual costs for a 
1,000-st/d underground mining venture for three regions 
of Alaska utilizing a campsite or a townsite. Total initial 
capital costs are given for each venture, including the 
initial housing and electrical costs. Because housing and 
electrical costs are the major components being varied in 
the study, they are also shown separately in the second 
column. Direct annual operating costs, without deprecia- 
tion, are given to show the impact of the greater wages in 
the camp situation. The required price (revenue) per short 



ton of copper metal and per short ton of ore mined are also 
given for each scenario. In both cases, the required price 
assumes a 15% DCFROR on the respective investment. 
The table indicates that the combination of relatively 
lower capital costs and relatively higher annual operating 
costs in the mining scenario utilizing a campsite produced 
a cheaper copper price f.o.b. the mill than a mining 
situation utilizing a townsite. Further, as capital and 
annual costs increase from south to north, the choice of a 
campsite becomes more advantageous. 

HYPOTHETICAL OPEN-PIT MINE EXAMPLE 

To check the validity of the calculations made in the 
first example, a second one was constructed. An open-pit 
mine moving 35,000 st/d of ore and 15,000 st/d of waste 
was proposed. All assumptions made for the underground 
mine applied to the open-pit example except those 
regarding total personnel and the ore deposit (table 1). 

The method and cost factors for determining capital 
and operating costs for the open-pit mine were the same as 
those employed for the underground mine, with one 
exception: the open pit miners were paid less than the 
underground miners. 

Table 3 summarizes capital and annual costs and 
required concentrate prices for a 50,000-st/d open pit mine 
in three regions of Alaska. The table 3 data indicate that 



TABLE 2.— Capital and annual costs and required copper prices by region for 1,000-st/d underground mine 1 

£?.;!! housing and I°' a ' Required Required 

n«„i„„ ™£ electrical JSISSL revenue revenue 

Re9 ' on S££? capital °S3 g per st per st ore 

costs ' costs costs ' coDDer 4 mined 5 
millions m°l?ons millions PP 

Southeast Alaska: 

Camp $93.7 $21.5 $32.2 $1,514 $196 

Town 162.2 86.1 27.4 2,025 262 

South-Central Alaska: 

Camp 123.2 27.9 33.5 1,733 224 

Town 205.5 112.0 31.1 2,490 322 

North-Central Alaska: 

Camp ■ 1 50.5 34.9 37.8 2,001 258 

Town 261.4 140.0 35.8 3,020 390 

'Required price is the price to maintain a 15% DCFROR on investment. 

includes environmental impact statement, exploration, access, mining, beneficiation, housing, and electrical costs; the latter 2 categories are also shown 
separately in the next column. 
^Direct operating costs including mining, beneficiation, administration, transportation, housing, and electrical costs. 

"Total revenues over the life of the project (including depreciation and amortization costs) divided by total short tons of recovered copper. 
5 Total revenues over the life of the project (including depreciation and amortization costs) divided by the total ore mined. 



TABLE 3. — Capital and annual costs and required copper prices by region for 50,000-st/d open-pit mine 1 

To . ta ] housing and J^L Required Required 

Dq „™ f i electrical „„"".' revenue revenue 

9 ° cos P s ca P ital S" 9 P erst P erst ° re 

c °f ts ' costs, co ,f ts ' copper 4 mined 5 
mllllons millions milhons _ 

Southeast Alaska: 

Camp $774.3 $58.2 $96.8 $1 ,800 $28 

Town 893.8 172.1 89.0 2,022 31 

South-Central Alaska: 

Camp 1,020.7 75.6 102.7 2,265 35 

Town 1,175.6 223.7 97.0 2,580 40 

North-Central Alaska: 

Camp 1,239.0 94.5 113.9 2,693 42 

Town 1,433.6 279.6 109.7 3,104 48 

'Required price is the price to maintain a 15% DCFROR on investment. 

includes environmental impact statement, exploration, access, mining, beneficiation, housing, and electrical costs; the latter 2 categories are also shown 
separately in the next column. 
^Direct operating costs including mining, beneficiation, administration, transportation, housing, and electrical costs. 
"Total revenues over the life of the project (including depreciation and amortization costs) divided by total short tons of recovered copper. 
5 Total revenues over the life of the project (including depreciation and amortization costs) divided by the total ore mined. 



the open-pit mines having campsites were cheaper to 
construct than those having townsites. The operating cost 
for the campsite facility was greater than that utilizing a 
townsite. Over the life of the mine, the price required to 
maintain a 15% DCFROR was less for those facilities 



having a campsite. As with the examples using under- 
ground mines, the cost advantage for an operation using a 
campsite became greater from south to north and from 
coastal areas toward the interior. 



CONCLUSIONS 



In developing a remote site, a mining company must 
decide whether to place its personnel at the mine site or at 
a distant site from which they commute. Which option is 
chosen is based in part on company philosophy, but 
economics can play a big role in making the final decision. 
As seen from the hypothetical mine examples presented 
here, mine operations having fly-in or commuter camp- 
sites are cheaper to build and require fewer people at the 
site than those employing a town; therefore, initial 
investment costs are less. However, if a commuter or fly-in 
type campsite is used, operating costs are higher, 
primarily owing to higher personnel costs. From the 



standpoint of regional economics, about the same number 
of people are employed with either option; however, each 
employee earns considerably more money working 84 h 
every other week at a campsite than he would working 40 
h each week at a townsite. But while wage costs are 
higher with a fly-in or commuter option, turnover, 
sickness, and absenteeism are relatively lower (3). The 
price required to obtain a 15% DCFROR for the 
single-product copper concentrate, f.o.b. the mill site, was 
significantly lower. The economic advantage for mines 
utilizing the camp increases from south to north and from 
the coast toward the interior. 



REFERENCES 



1. Alaska Department of Labor, Research and Analysis 
Division. Unpublished data for March 1984, obtained from staff 
economist on June 6, 1984; available upon request from R. 
Bottge, Juneau, AK. 

2. Alaska Office of Mineral Development (Dep Commerce and 
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3. Beveridge, J. The Rabbit Lake Commuting Operation: A 
Case for Mutual Adaptation? Paper in Proceedings: Conference 
on Commuting and Northern Development (Saskatoon, Sas- 
katchewan, Feb. 15-16, 1979). Inst, for Northern Studies, Univ. 
Saskatchewan, 1979, pp. 110-162. 

4. Canadian Mining Journal. Key Lake Pit Development a 
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5. Cassiar Asbestos Corp., Ltd. Cassiar Asbestos Corporation, 
Ltd., Welcomes You to the Clinton Mine Operation. Company 
handout, May 1973, 7 pp. 

6. Chenard, P. Native Workers' Experience. Paper in Proceed- 
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(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Feb. 15-16, 1979). Inst, for Northern 
Studies, Univ. Saskatchewan, 1979, pp. 98-100. 

7. Clement, G. K., Jr., R. L. Miller, P. A. Seibert, L. Avery, and 
H. Bennett. Capital and Operating Cost Estimating System 
Manual for Mining and Beneficiation of Metallic and Nonmetal- 
lic Minerals Except Fossil Fuels in the United States and 
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8. Compressed Air. Canada's Largest Mining Scheme, v. 89, 
No. 5, 1984, pp. 24-27. 

9. Envers, P. Cullaton Lake: Worst Over as Second Mine 
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10. Godfrey, R. S. (ed.). Building Construction Cost Data 1984. 
Robert Snow Means Co., Inc., Kingston, MA, 1984, 434 pp. 

11. Gunther, P. E. Cypress Anvil — Impact on the Yukon. 
Informetrica, Ltd., Ottawa, undated, 67 pp. 



12. Himelfarb, A. The Social Characteristics of One-Industry 
Towns in Canada, A Background Report. Study No. 30. Royal 
Commission on Corporate Concentration, Ottawa, 1977, 43 pp. 

13. Hobart, C. W. Commuting Work in the Canadian North: 
Some Effects on Native People. Paper in Proceedings: Conference 
on Commuting and Northern Development (Saskatoon, Sas- 
katchewan, Feb. 15-16, 1979). Inst. For Northern Studies, Univ. 
Saskatchewan, 1979, pp. 1-37. 

14. Knoll, K. Beating the Clock and Budget of Canada's 
Largest Gold Mines. Can. Min. J., v. 105, No. 5, 1984, pp. 63, 
65-66, 69. 

15. Lucas, R. A. Minetown, Milltown, Railtown: Life in 
Canadian Communities of Single Industry. Univ. Toronto Press, 
1971, 387 pp. 

16. Mamen, C. (ed.). Canadian Mining Manual 1969. Natl. 
Business Publications Ltd., Gardenvale, Quebec, 1969, 222 pp. 

17. Canadian Mining Manual 1970. Natl. 

Business Publications Ltd., Gardenvale, Quebec, 1970, 212 pp. 

18. Canadian Mining Manual 1971. Natl. 

Business Publications Ltd., Gardenvale, Quebec, 1971, 212 pp. 

19. O'Hara, T. A. Quick Guides to the Evaluation of Ore 
Bodies. CIM Bull., v. 73, No. 814, 1980, pp. 87-99. 

20. Scales, M. High Arctic Wizardry: Polaris Mine on Stream. 
Can. Min. J., v. 103, No. 7, 1982, pp. 24-41. 

21. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Cost Engineering. EIRS 
Bull. 82-02, 1984, 25 pp. 

22. Walsh, P., G Paget, and R. A. Rabnett. Tumbler Ridge: A 
New Approach to Resource Community Development. CIM Bull., 
v. 76, No. 853, 1983, pp. 33-38. 

23. Wohlford, J. Engine and Turbine-Powered Generating 
Plants. Ch. in Society of Mining Engineers Handbook, ed. by I. A. 
Given. Soc. Min. Eng. AIME, 1973, pp. 23-21 to 23-23. 



I MMtMJIJHHUBftWMdmWiHBi BH B^ 



APPENDIX A.— CAPITAL COSTS 



Certainly a major consideration in the choice of a 
town or a camp is cost. While precise costs may be closely 
estimated once the go-ahead is given on a project, most 
economic evaluations require only order of magnitude 
estimates. Deriving order of magnitude cost estimates is 
difficult owing to the dearth of precise data available. 
While the literature often contains cost estimates for new 
projects, closer scrutiny reveals a lack of precision on what 
components are included. 

At least two publications can be used to estimate 
construction costs in Alaska: "Building Construction Cost 
Data" (10Y and the Corps of Engineers booklet "Cost 
Engineering" (21). The former publication lists average 
construction cost indexes for typical "average" building 
construction projects for 162 cities in the United States 
and Canada. The latter publication lists location factors to 
apply to the construction of repetitive-type facilities for all 
50 States and at military locations within each State. 

A comparison of cost factors for Anchorage versus 
Washington, DC, in reference 10 shows a factor difference 
of 1.41; reference 21 shows a factor difference of 1.90 
between Elmendorf Air Force Base (which borders 
Anchorage) and Washington, DC. A comparison of con- 
struction indexes for cities in other States often shows 
differences of less than 5%. It is interesting, then, that the 
difference in the two Anchorage estimates is nearly 35%. 
If two sources differ so widely on a construction site where 
extensive experience exists, one must wonder how 
accurately construction costs away from that area can be 
estimated. 



ESTIMATING CONSTRUCTION COSTS IN 
ALASKA 

In an attempt to estimate capital costs for Alaskan 
projects in a consistent manner, a map showing escalation 
factors for each part of the State was developed (fig. 
A-l — in pocket). The escalation factors are based on the 
Corps of Engineers booklet, "Cost Engineering" (21) with 
subjective modifications based upon the collection of cost 
data and estimates by the author over the last 12 yr. 

The escalation factors assume that a road system will 
be built to exploit a major property and that the company 
will not be required to pay for that road. Therefore, the 
factors will not apply until some form of ground 
transportation exists. In general, the escalation factors 
are lowest along the coast and increase in mountainous 
areas and in higher latitudes. The area north of the 
Brooks Range is the most expensive area in which to 
construct any facility. 

The factors shown on figure A-l represent multiples 
of a cost to construct a similar facility in Washington, DC 
(or Seattle, which is 1.01). In a sense, facilities are 
costed-out in Seattle and "moved" to the location in 
Alaska using the appropriate escalation factor. 



The factors given on figure A-l assume that facilities 
will be permitted in the area. The factors include lands 
that are designated wilderness, wildlife preserves, and 
national parks. Because of political factors, however, 
these areas are not likely to be exploited. The factors do 
not consider the politics of development, only the physical 
aspects and their impact on costs. 

For the study discussed in the main body of the report, 
non-specific sites were chosen in three parts of the State, 
or regions. The region and the escalation factors follow: 
southeast, 2.00; south-central, 2.60; north-central, 3.25. 

Although there may be a number of escalation factors 
within each area of the State, for this report one factor has 
been chosen to represent each region. The Southeast 
region is defined as that part of Alaska east of 141° 
longitude (fig. A-l). The South-Central region is defined 
here as that part of Alaska south of 64° north latitude. The 
North-Central region is defined as that part of Alaska 
north of 64° and south of 68° north latitude. 

To obtain the total capital costs for the facilities in 
each part of the State, the cost for underground and 
open-pit mines developed by O'Hara (19) was computed, 
updated from 1978 to 1984 using the Bureau's cost- 
estimating system (CES) program (7), and multiplied by 
the appropriate escalation factor. The various capital cost 
components in the CES program were adjusted until that 
total matched the total estimate using O'Hara's equations 
times the escalation factor. Two components in the CES 
program were not used: electrical and town and campsite 
costs. CES assumed power would be provided by a power 
company, but in Alaska, it would be diesel generated. 
Electrical capital costs were based upon Wohlford (23) 
updated to 1984. CES provided no estimates for townsite 
costs or for the total installed cost for large camps. The 
author estimated these costs from published data (2, 19, 
22) and discussions with mining people during the past 12 

yr. 

Figures A-2 and A-3 show curves and equations for 
calculating the 1984 cost to design and completely install 
either a town or a campsite. 2 The curves reflect the data in 
references 2, 19 and 22 adjusted to 1984. 

Calculations for the camps turn out to be approx- 
imately double the direct cost of living space plus 
community center space estimated by CES (7). In addition 
to the basic units, a campsite requires roads, walkways, 
utilities, a sewer system, landscaping, and outdoor 
recreation facilities. As the campsite becomes larger, the 
community center grows. As the campsite grows from 20 
to 200 people, the space per person increases as more 
amenities are added for the workers' convenience. Beyond 
200 employees, the space per employee diminishes 
because all of the amenities have been provided and the 
increase in the unit space per person is less than one unit 
per person. A 200-plus-employee camp includes space for 
kitchen and dining rooms, lounge and recreation rooms, 
laundry, infirmary, gymnasium, hobby rooms, commis- 
sary, library, post office, maintenance, and storage. 



italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references 
preceding this appendix. 



^he curves and equations shown on each figure estimate housing facility 
costs (y-axis) given employees (x-axis). 



< 



o 
o 



uu 
























































































on 




































































































Y= $ I30,900( 
500 sX <2,50 


x) 0.92 

employees 






























IU J 























100 



ipoo 

EMPLOYEES 



10,000 



FIGURE A-2. — Townsite costs versus total employees, 1984 dollars. 



II II II I II I I I I I I III I iMlirfimin ■«— mm— ■■■■« 



I WBUMAM* JFMl V r a mM * Pft MBn ^UiJJlAMJIIJU n UMMmilUUM^ 



uu — 
































































































































































1 U ~ 
































































































































1 
















































= *90,I00(X) - 805 
00<X 5|,000 employees 
























T 
2 
























Y = *2,700(X)'- 45 

20 *X *200 employees 










































































U.I i 

































10 



100 



1,000 



10,000 



EMPLOYEES 
FIGURE A-3. — Campsite costs versus total employees, 1984 dollars. 



APPENDIX B.— OPERATING COSTS 



ESTIMATING SALARY COSTS IN ALASKA 

Salaries for long-term hardrock mining in Alaska 
were not available. The average hourly wage rate for 
metal, nonmetal, and sand and gravel employees in March 
1984 was $19.64 (1). This figure included sick, holiday, 
and vacation pay, shift differential, and overtime pay. As 
March was not a high-overtime month in Alaska, the 
figure was considered to be representative for long-term 
hardrock mining. 

The national average mine and plant wage for 
January 1975, the base year for the Bureau of Mines' 
costing program, was $5.61. Based on typical manning 
tables and wage rates for that time, an average salary 
could have been $5.85/h for underground mining, $5.60/h 
for surface mining, and $5.45/h for mine plant and 
concentrating. Adjusting these January 1975 estimated 
wage rates to January 1984 was done by dividing the 
January 1984 average of $11.56/h by $5.61. The quotient 
of 2.06 was multiplied times the various rates times 1.35 
for benefits to obtain a 1984 estimated figure of $16.27/h 
for underground mining, $15.57/h for surface mining, and 
$15.16/h for mine plant and beneficiation. 

Estimating salaries for Alaska is difficult because the 
State is so large and economic conditions vary from region 
to region. For State employees, Alaska has a regionalized 
pay schedule in which salaries for like work are adjusted 
to reflect the varying cost to live in each region of Alaska. 
The following salary relationships were derived from the 
General Government/Noncollective Bargaining Schedule: 



Factor 



Area 



1.000 Contiguous States and 

Canada. 
1.225 Ketchikan, Juneau, 

Anchorage. 
1.272 Petersburg, Wrangell, 

Sitka, Palmer. 
1.313 Haines, Skagway, Seward, 

Kenai, Kodiak. 

1.412 Cordova, Fairbanks. 

1.463 Valdez. 

1.565 Aleutian Islands, 

Dillingham. 
1.616 Bethel, Nenana, Hooper 

Bay, Nome. 
1.677 Galena, Tanana, McGrath, 

Fort Yukon, Barrow. 

Applying the factor of 1.225 to the estimated salaries 
derived above gave $19.93/h for underground mining, 
$19.07/h for surface mining, and $18.57/h for mine plant 



and beneficiation employees near Ketchikan, Juneau, or 
Anchorage. These numbers compared favorably with the 
average mining wage of $19.64/h in March 1984. 

The following escalation factors were applied to the 
base salaries of $16.27/h for underground miners, $15.57/ 
h for surface miners, and $15.16/h for mine plant and 
beneficiation: 



Region 


Camp 


Town 


Southeast 

South-Central 


1.225 
1.225 


1.225 
1.412 


North-Central 


1.412 


1.677 









The factors for camps and townsites were not the same in 
the South-Central and North-Central locations because 
the assumption was made that personnel for a South- 
Central mine with a camp were headquartered in 
Anchorage and personnel for a North-Central mine with a 
camp were located in Fairbanks. The labor cost for a 
townsite away from these two metropolitan areas was 
higher to compensate people for the higher cost of living in 
a remote site. 

Based upon the factors listed above, total annual costs 
per employee at an underground operation with a 
campsite or townsite in each region were as follows: 



Region 


Camp Town 


Mine Mill Mine Mill 


Southeast 

South-Central 
North-Central 


$54,900 $51,200 $41,500 $38,600 
54,900 51,200 47,800 44,500 
63,300 59,000 56,700 52,900 



The above figures represent total company costs per 
employee; gross individual wages would be about 11% 
less. Camp labor costs are for 84 h/wk, of which 44 h are 
overtime; town labor costs are for 40 h/wk. 

The annual costs for employees at an open-pit 
operation with a campsite or townsite in each region were 
as follows: 



Region 


Camp Town 


Mine Mill Mine Mill 


Southeast 

South-Central 
North-Central 


$52,600 $51,200 $39,700 $38,600 
52,600 51,200 45,700 44,500 
60,600 59,000 54,300 52,900 



As with the underground examples, gross individual 
wages would be about 11% less than figures cited here. 



mmmHfmKw n mimvmitmmMN ! 



10 



ESTIMATING OTHER OPERATING COSTS IN The factors for materials and supplies used in mining, 

ALASKA concentrating, and equipment operations were derived by 

multiplying the Alaska construction factor times 20% and 

In constructing the models for this study, the adding 1. The factors accounted for the extra cost of 

following factors were used to escalate the cost of moving supplies to Alaska and the extra cost of operating 

materials and supplies and equipment operation for each an( i maintaining equipment in a remote northern loca- 

region: tion. 

— — : = The operating costs for the town and campsites were 

calculated separately, and the final escalated number was 
entered into CES. In addition to camp food and town 
maintenance costs, the cost of daily or thrice weekly air 
support was added to the town or camp operating costs. 



Southeast 


1.40 


South-Central 


1.52 


North-Central 


1 65 





11 



APPENDIX C— ESTIMATING THE WORK FORCE SIZE 



For making generalized estimates of the work force in 
a mining venture, one must know the type of mining 
proposed. In actuality, the size of the workforce depends 
on the size, depth, and configuration of the ore body, the 
type of beneficiation required, and the company's prefer- 
ence in setting staffing requirements. Compounding the 
difficulty in making the estimates is finding base line 
data. Once base line data are found, one needs enough 
discrete examples to generate a curve for each type of 
mining. The last requirement is exceptionally difficult as 
many underground mines utilize several types of mining 
methods simultaneously. 

For this report work force data from the 1969, 1970, 
and 1971 Canadian Mining Manuals were used (16-18). 
These were the only years in which complete data for the 
mine, mill, plant, and office staffs were compiled. 
Employment statistics were used only once for each 
company in the 3-yr period unless the total production or 
total employment varied from the previous year's data by 
more than 25%; in those cases, the company's statistics 
were used for the second or third year, in addition to the 
first year. Production-employee relationships that seemed 
anomolous were not included. Generally, the mines 
having the highest and lowest number of employees per 
unit of production were excluded on the assumption that a 
mistake was made in reporting or because conditions in 
the highly variant mine were unique to that mine. The 
results are given in tables C-l through C-7; graphs of the 
data are given in figures C-l through C-7. 

Total production-employee relationships are shown 
for the following types of mining: blasthole, cut and fill, 
long hole, open pit, open stope, room and pillar, and 
shrinkage stope. Each graph shows the number of mines 
in the sample, a first-order polynomial equation (least 
squares), a correlation coefficient of the curve against the 
data, and a curve plot one standard deviation unit above 
and below the data-generated curve. 

Although other types of equations fit some of the data 
better, a simple least-squares curve was used here to show 
the increase in employees with increased production. 
Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.873 for shrinkage- 



stope mining to 0.989 for room-and-pillar mining. The 
median correlation coefficient was 0.927. 

A pair of lines located one standard deviation unit 
above and below each least-squares curve was also 
plotted. Statistically, 68.3% of the mines employing the 
type of mining graphed should have work forces within 
±1 standard deviation unit of the calculated curve. 
Employment at 95% of the mines should fall within 1.96 
standard deviation units of the calculated least squares 
curve. 

The estimates generated from the equations include 
all the personnel necessary to operate the facility 3 shifts 
per day, 7 d/wk, including mining, concentrating, surface 
plant, and office. The assumption was made that the mine 
complex was remotely located and hence required a 
surface plant facility to maintain the mine, mill, and 
living area, be it a townsite or a campsite. If the operation 
was drawing personnel from an existing town or city in 
close proximity, possibly one-fourth to one-third fewer 
people would be required in the surface plant and office 
personnel. 

Utilizing the Bureau of Mines' CES program requires 
that the total workforce be split into mining and milling 
segments. Making the split is difficult for many of the 
same reasons specified above in estimating the workforce. 
In addition to the variation in personnel requirements 
that comes with the unique characteristics of each ore 
body, each type of ore recovery technique requires a 
different quantity of workers. Among underground min- 
ing techniques, room-and-pillar mining and open-stope 
mining tend to employ the least amount of labor and 
shrinkage-stope mining the most. Owing to a lack of data, 
no curve was constructed for square-set mining, which is 
probably the most labor intensive mining technique. 

Table C-8 shows one split between mine and mill 
personnel for seven types of mining. The splits were made 
on the basis of the curves shown in figures C-l through 
C-7 minus the mill personnel as calculated from O'Hara 
(19). Forty percent was added to direct mill personnel 
estimates for plant and office personnel at underground 
mines; 10% was added at open-pit mines. 



12 



TABLE C-1 — Cut-and-fill mining data 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Mine 



Mill 



Surface plant 



Other Tonnage. 

types of ore + Salaried Hourly Salaried Hourly Salaried Hourly 
mining waste stat f workers staff workers staff workers 



Office 
staff 



Total 
employees 



1971 Bralorne Can-Fer Au 

1971 Eldorado Nuclear U 

1971 Hallnor Mines Au, Ag 

1971 Madsen Red Lake Cu 

1971 Opemiska Copper Mines Cu, Au, Ag .. . 

1971 Sullivan Mining Cu, Zn, Pb 

1970 Aunor Gold Mines Au 

1 970 Madsen Red Lake Au 

1970 Opemiska Copper Mines Cu, Au, Ag . . . 

1970 Orchan Mines Zn, Cu 

1969 Bralorne Can-Fer Au 

1969 Giant Yellow Knife Mines . . Au 

1969 Nigadoo River Mines Pb, Zn, Cu, Ag 

1969 Quemont Mines Cu, Au, Ag, 

Zn, Fe 



280 

1.350 

349 

551 

OS 3,966 

1,100 

750 

721 
2,300 
1.100 
430 
1,250 
1,100 



SH, SL 
LH, OP 



SH 
OS, 



SH 



SL 1,252 



44 
12 
10 
32 
25 
11 
11 
39 
17 
11 
38 
19 
29 



69 

128 

97 

87 

372 

190 

215 

141 

348 

86 

89 

206 

157 

205 



1 

20 
2 
4 

10 
9 
3 
5 
9 

12 
3 

13 
9 

21 



10 
36 
21 
23 
38 
37 
28 
32 
39 
47 
12 
60 
32 
31 



4 

17 

3 

10 

12 

5 

4 

6 

8 

9 

5 

7 

5 

13 



17 
87 
18 
37 
83 
58 
64 
50 
70 
69 
31 
38 
54 
62 



13 
84 
8 
17 
80 
30 
27 
30 
59 
18 
12 
30 
24 
33 



122 
416 
161 
188 
627 
354 
352 
275 
572 
258 
163 
392 
300 
394 



'Certain cut-and-fill mines also reported other types of mining as follows: LH — long hole; OP — open pit; OS — open stope; SH — shrinkage stope; SL- 
caving. 



-sublevel 



700 



600- 



500- 



UJ 
UJ 

3 400 



2 

UJ 



300- 



O 



200- 



I00 




i standard deviation unit 



Y = I66.2+0.I3900X 
Correlation coefficient = 0.927 
Standard error of estimate 1 ±58 



± 



ipoo 



2000 3000 
DAILY TONNAGE 



4000 



5000 



FIGURE C-1. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in cut-and-fill mining. 



TABLE C-2.— Blasthole mining data 



13 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Other Tonnage, 
types of ore + 
■ mining 1 waste 



Mine 


Mill 


Surface plant 


Office 
staff 


Total 
employees 


Salaried 
staff 


Hourly 
workers 


Salaried 
staff 


Hourly 
workers 


Salaried 
staff 


Hourly 
workers 


11 


157 


13 


39 


6 


105 


41 


372 


31 


198 


13 


55 


16 


112 


60 


485 


5 


50 


5 


12 


3 


21 


9 


105 


6 


66 


4 


21 


4 


32 


17 


150 


6 


56 


10 


54 


8 


57 


32 


223 


15 


135 


7 


41 


4 


65 


27 


294 


51 


214 


14 


44 


11 


42 


68 


544 


44 


210 


18 


80 


23 


92 


72 


539 


24 


172 


11 


45 


9 


69 


30 


360 


42 


234 


13 


70 


3 


36 


46 


444 


16 


128 


11 


42 


7 


53 


19 


276 



1971 
1971 
1971 
1971 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1969 

1969 



Cu 
Ag 



Heath Steel Mines Pb, Zn, 

Mattigame Lake Mines ... Zn, Cu, 

Reeves, McDonald Pb, Zn 

Tribag Mining Co Cu 

Heath Steel Mines Pb, Zn, Cu 

Kam Kotia Mines Cu, Zn 



OS 3,200 

SL 4,100 

775 

500 

OS 2,100 

2,420 

4,028 

CF 4,450 

Au, Ag CF, SH .. 1,706 

Ni, Cu SL 4,150 

Zn, Cu, Pb, CF, SH .. 1,304 
Au, Ag 

Sherritt Gordon Mines Ni, Cu SL 4,150 



Mattigame Lake Mines 
Noranda Mines, Geco Div. 
Pamour Porcupine Mines 
Sherritt Gordon Mines . . . 
Manitou Barvue Mines . . 



Zn, Cu 

Cu, Zn, Au, Pb 



60 



205 



25 



69 



22 



144 



30 



555 



'Certain mines using blasthole mining also reported other types of mining as follows: CF- 
caving. 



-cut and fill; OS — open stope; SH — shrinkage stope; SL — sublevel 



700 
600 


- 








^ 

•*'" ^ 

^ _^^ 


500 






Y= 95.8+ 0.09469 X 
Correlation coefficient = 0.924 




(O 






Standard error 


of estimate = ±55 


^^ ^-^» ^ 


UJ 
UJ 

O 400 












— 






^" 


-' ^^ ^ 


_j 
a. 








^ 


^^* -^^ 








•" 


y^ s* 


2 








• ^ ^s 




UJ 








-" ^-"^ 


^ 


^ 300 


— 




• ^ 




^ 


P 












200 


— 


^ 


^ ^^ 


-^-_ 










^^ s* 




- 1 standard deviation unit 








**^ ^ 












^ 






!00 




^ 


• 


I 


I i 



1,000 



2p00 3,000 

DAILY TONNAGE 



4000 



5000 



FIGURE C-2. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in blasthole mining. 



maasieauam* 



tarn 



14 



TABLE C-3. — Open-stope mining data 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Other 
types of 
mining 1 



Tonnage, _ 

ore + Salaried 
waste sta f, 



Mine 



Mill 



Surface plant 



Hourly 
workers 



Salaried 
staff 



Hourly 
workers 



Salaried 
staff 



Hourly 
workers 



Office 
staff 



Total 
employees 



1971 Algoma Steel Corp Fe 4,150 36 214 12 46 27 153 89 577 

1971 East Malartic Mines Au BH, SL . . . 1,650 14 176 9 23 8 49 21 300 

1971 KRC Operators MoS BH, SH . . 330 7 28 4 12 1 22 5 79 

1971 Teck Corp Ag, Pb, Zn 130 4 25 2 11 1 5 4 52 

1971 Venus Mines Au, Ag, Pb 325 7 28 5 19 1 2 5 67 

Zn, Cd 

1971 Wilroy Mines Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag 1,520 8 105 7 26 4 43 29 222 

1970 Lake Shore Mines Au, Ag BH, SH .. 1,365 8 105 9 18 10 25 10 185 

1970 Leitch Mines Ag, Pb, Zn 140 4 35 2 11 3 5 7 67 

1970 Zenmac Metal Mines Zn, Cu, Cd 105 2 15 1 8 2 4 6 38 

1969 MacLeod-Mosher Au, Ag BH, SL . . . 1,284 10 116 8 21 2 33 9 199 

'Certain open-stope mines also reported other types of mining as follows: BH — blasthole; SH — shrinkage stope; SL — sublevel caving. 



70Q 



600 



500 

(/> 
UJ 
Ul 

Q 4001- 



u 

5c 300 



200- 



100 



Y= 54.4 + 0.09665 X 
Correlation coefficient = 0.957 
Standard error of estimate =±34 




standard deviation unit 



ipoo 



2000 3000 

DAILY TONNAGE 



4000 



5000 



FIGURE C-3. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in open-stope mining. 



15 



TABLE C-4. — Long-hole mining data 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Other 
types of 
mining 1 



Tonnage, 
ore + 
waste 



Mine 


Mill 


Surface plant 


Office 
staff 


Total 


Salaried 
staff 


Hourly 
workers 


Salaried 
staff 


Hourly 
workers 


Salaried 
staff 


Hourly 
workers 


employees 


3 


22 


10 


26 


3 


24 


12 


100 


12 


121 


7 


38 


4 


84 


23 


289 


46 


325 


37 


203 


51 


193 


77 


2 932 


6 


62 


3 


25 


2 


18 


11 


127 


13 


72 


5 


19 


7 


26 


18 


160 


14 


93 


8 


29 


5 


3 50 


15 


214 


7 


53 


4 


25 


1 


16 


11 


117 


30 


199 


6 


29 


5 


24 


35 


328 


12 


98 


5 


21 


3 


21 


16 


176 


18 


110 


11 


42 


11 


42 


20 


254 



1971 Consolidated Canadian 

Faraday 

1971 Kam Kotia Mines 

1970 Brunswick Mine & Smelting 

1970 Camflo Mines 

1970 Consolidated Canadian 

Faraday 

1970 Consolidated Rambler 

1970 Dresser Minerals 

1970 East Malartic Mines 

1970 Giant Mascot Mines 

1970 Manitou Barvue Mines 



1970 St. Lawrence Columbium 
and Metals Corp. 

1 969 Barnat Mines 

1969 Dresser Minerals 



Ni, Cu, PGM . CF, SL 



320 



Cu, Zn, Au, Ag 2,395 

Pb, Zn, Cu . . . OS 5,200 

Au SH 1,146 

Ni, Cu, PGM . CF 650 



Cu, Au, Ag . . . 
Ba, Ag, Pb, Cu 
Au 



SL 1 ,200 

CF 860 

SH 1,653 



Ni, Cu SH 1,600 



Ag, Cu, Zn, 

Au, 

Asbestos 
Pyrochlorite 



SH 1 ,080 



1,475 



1969 Wilroy Mines 



Au, Ag CF 625 12 

Ag, Pb, Cu, CF 1,120 7 

Zn, Ba 
Cu, Zn, Pb, 645 9 

Au, Ag 



70 

80 

48 

115 



3 
10 



31 



3 15 
23 



26 



21 



13 
22 



56 



17 



7 
14 



28 



156 

128 
118 

251 



1 Certain mines using long-hole mining also reported other types of mining as follows: CF — cut and fill; OS — open stope; SH — shrinkage stope; SL — sublevel 
caving, 
included in calculations, not plotted in figure C-4. 
3 Estimate based upon the average percent the work group comprises of the total for all of the companies. 



ruu 








7 S " 










/ s s 


600 


- 






//^ 


500 

V) 






4 

/ 


' // 




/ 




UJ 
Ul 

>- 










q 400 




/ y 




/ 


a. 




/ / 




/ 


2 




/ / 


/ 




Ul 




/-, / 


/ 




< 300 
o 










K 




' / .// 




Y= 3.7+0. I6359X 


200 








Correlation coefficient = 0.93I 
Standard error of estimate =±75 


I00 








" I 



ipoo 



2pOO 3000 

DAILY TONNAGE 



4.000 



5.000 



FIGURE C-4. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in long-hole mining. 



16 



TABLE C-5. — Shrinkage-stope mining data 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Other 
types of 
mining 1 



Tonnage, _ 

ore + Salaried 
waste s t a tf 



Mine 



Surface plant 



Hourly 
workers 



Salaried 
staff 



Hourly 
workers 



Salaried 
staff 



Hourly 
workers 



Office 
staff 



Total 
employees 



1971 
1971 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1969 
1969 
1969 
1969 



OS 

BH 



CF 



Echo Bay Mines Ag, Au 

Sisco Mines Ag, Co 

Anglo-Rouyn Mines Cu ... 

Canadian Jamieson Mines . Cu, Zn 

Deer Horn Mines Ag, Co 

Dickenson Mines Au, Ag 

Preissac Molybdenite Mo, Bi . LH, OS 

Renabie Mines Au BH ... 

Sisco Mines Ag, Co 

Agnico Mines Au, Co, Cu 

Anglo Rouyn Cu 

Echo Bay Mines Ag, Cu 

Wasamac Mines . Au, Ag 



200 
182 

1,001 

590 

55 

537 

1,150 
508 
170 
300 

1,150 
150 

1,130 



8 

20 

9 

5 

18 

17 

13 

8 

6 

18 

6 

19 



34 
51 

135 
65 
18 

133 

165 
89 
60 
35 

103 
36 

127 



15 
11 
22 
32 
12 
29 
36 
18 
11 
16 
18 
14 
28 



31 
6 
45 
20 
1 
39 
39 
20 
58 
18 
44 
36 
42 



17 
8 

20 
9 
4 

18 
2 22 

12 
9 

10 

28 

17 
2 19 



'Certain shrinkage-stope mines also reported other types of mining as follows: BH — blasthole; CF — cut and fill; LH — long hole; OS — open stope. 
2 Estimate based upon the average percent the work group comprises of the total for all of the companies. 



114 

87 

252 

146 

44 

244 

286 

157 

157 

89 

219 

115 

246 



700 



600 - 



500 
</) 

UJ 
Ul 

§400 

Q. 

S 

u 

^ 300 



200 - 



1 00 



- 






Y= 79.2+0. I55I6X S 
Correlation coefficient = 0.873 / S 














Standard error of estimate = ±35 / S / 










~* 








- 


* 


/ 


/ s — —I standard deviation unit 




•^ 




/ 


— 


> 


*- 




• 






I i 



IPOO 2P00 

DAILY TONNAGE 



3OO0 



FIGURE C-5. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in shrinkage-stope mining. 



17 



TABLE C-6. — Room-and-pillar mining data 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Tonnage, _ 

ce + Salaried 
waste sta ff 



Mine 



Surface plant 



Hourly 
workers 



Salaried 
staff 



Hourly 
workers 



Salaried 
staff 



Hourly 
workers 



Office 
staff 



Total 
employees 



1971 Canadian Exploration W0 3 1,000 12 53 15 19 5 39 24 167 

1971 Tantalum Mining Ta 2 5 600 3 20 4 10 5 22 13 77 

1970 Canadian Exploration Pb, Zn 1,633 16 91 10 21 5 62 30 235 

1970 Denison Mines U, Y 4,700 68 385 25 107 19 153 103 1 860 

1970 Gaspe Copper Mines Cu, Mo, Au, Ag .. 3,550 34 172 11 73 76 292 99 1 757 

1970 Tantalum Mining Ta 2 5 427 4 25 3 9 5 27 14 87 



'Included in calculations, not plotted in figure C-6. 



700 



600 



500 

CD 

id 
UJ 

O400 

Q. 

UJ 



300 



200 



1 00 



I standard deviation unit 




/ / / 

/ / ' 

/ / ' 
/ / / 

' ' // 

/ / /# Y= -29.I+O.I95083X 

/ / s Correlation coeff icient = 0.989 

Standard error of estimate = ±47 



IpOO 2000 3000 4000 

DAILY TONNAGE 

FIGURE C-6. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in room-and-pillar mining. 



18 



TABLE C-7 — Open-pit mining data 



Year 



Company 



Mineral 
concentrates 



Mine' 



Mill 



Surface plant 



Tonnage, 

Salaried Hourly Salaried Hourly Salaried Hourly 



waste 



staff workers staff workers staff workers 



Office 
staff 



Total 
employees 



1971 
1971 
1971 

1971 
1971 
1971 
1971 
1971 
1971 
1971 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 

1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1970 
1969 
1969 
1969 
1969 



Advocate Mines 

Brenda Mines 

Cassiar Asbestos Mines — Clinton 

Creek Div. 

Endako Mines 

Granisle Copper 

Jones & Laughlin Mining 

Lake Asbestos of Quebec 

National Steel Corp. of Canada . . 

New Imperial Mines 

Wesfrob Mines 

Bethlehem Copper Corp 

British Columbia Molybdenum 

Endako Mines 

Granby Mining 

Granisle Copper 

Iron Ore Co. of Canada — Scheffer 

Div. 

Jones & Laughlin Mining 

National Steel Corp. of Canada . . 

New Imperial Mines 

Pickends, Mather & Co 

Steep Rock Iron Mines 

Bethlehem Copper Corp 

Granby Mining 

Hilton Mines 

Indusmin Nepheline Syenite 



Asbestos 41,000 

Cu. Mo 48,000 

Asbestos 46,000 

Mo 50,000 

Cu 10,400 

Fe 22,000 

Asbestos 45,000 

Fe 10.500 

Cu 12,500 

Fe, Cu 18,000 

Cu 45,000 

Mo 22,500 

Mo 36,000 

Cu 19,100 

Cu 16,100 

Fe 90,000 

Fe 20,000 

Fe 10,800 

Cu 12,500 

Fe 21,000 

Fe 33,300 

Cu 33,500 

Cu 17,200 

Fe 19,500 

Syenite 1 ,400 



119 


10 


167 


21 


133 


53 


503 


83 


18 


73 


17 


104 


49 


344 


54 


17 


81 


26 


127 


79 


384 


102 


27 


89 


32 


150 


172 


572 


43 


10 


40 


6 


38 


20 


157 


86 


20 


132 


18 


112 


42 


410 


200 


11 


2 88 


19 


155 


27 


500 


76 


16 


74 


14 


49 


21 


250 


40 


9 


30 


8 


35 


20 


142 


35 


13 


52 


13 


70 


23 


206 


129 


19 


105 


17 


169 


41 


480 


67 


19 


44 


26 


70 


36 


262 


112 


27 


87 


30 


155 


70 


481 


66 


6 


38 


5 


41 


18 


174 


40 


10 


42 


5 


39 


18 


154 


280 


2 43 


2 200 


70 


290 


224 


1,107 


84 


14 


105 


18 


43 


50 


314 


68 


16 


84 


21 


108 


21 


318 


40 


9 


30 


8 


83 


20 


190 


108 


16 


71 


19 


128 


30 


372 


142 


2 18 


2 79 


35 


120 


53 


447 


162 


13 


54 


18 


61 


43 


351 


60 


3 


43 


4 


26 


17 


153 


113 


16 


77 


17 


122 


33 


378 


10 


7 


36 


3 


21 


11 


88 



'Salaried staff positions are included with mine hourly personnel. 

2 Estimate based upon the average percent the work group comprises of the total for all of the companies. 



1,200, 



1,000- 



800 



2 600- 



2 

o 



400- 



200 



Y=68.0+0.0I0I8X 
Correlation coefficient = 0.905 
Standard error of eetlmote = ±89 




I standard deviotion unit 



30 40 50 60 
THOUSAND SHORT TONS PER DAY 



100 



FIGURE C-7. — Total employees versus daily tonnage in open-pit mining. 



19 



TABLE C-8. — Estimates of mine and mill personnel by type of mining' 



Underground mining at 
rate of 


500 
st/d 


1.000 
st/d 


1,500 
st/d 


2,000 
st/d 


3,000 
st/d 


4,000 
st/d 


5,000 
st/d 


Underground mining at 
rate of 


500 
st/d 


1.000 
st/d 


1,500 
st/d 


2,000 
st/d 


3,000 
st/d 


4,000 
std 


5,000 
st'd 






Blasthole: 

Mine 

Mill 


2 110 

35 


140 
50 


175 
60 


215 

70 


295 
85 


375 
100 


460 
110 


Room and pillar: 

Mine 

Mill 


35 
35 


115 
50 


205 
60 


290 
70 


470 
85 


650 

100 


835 
110 




Total 

Shrinkage stope: 

Mine 

Mill 

Total 




Total 


145 


190 


235 


285 


380 


475 


570 


70 


165 


265 


360 


555 


750 


945 


Cut and fill: 

Mine 

Mill 


200 
35 


255 
50 


315 
60 


375 
70 


500 
85 


620 
100 


NC 
NC 

NC 


120 
35 


185 
50 


250 
60 


NC 
NC 

NC 


NC 
NC 

NC 


NC 
NC 

NC 


NC 
NC 


Total 


235 


305 


375 


445 


585 


720 


155 


235 


310 


NC 


Long hole: 

Mine 


50 
35 


115 
50 


190 
60 


260 
70 


410 
85 


560 
100 


710 
110 


Open-pit mining at 
rate of 


10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 
st/d st/d st/d st/d st/d st/d 


70,000 
st/d 






Mill 


Mine 

Mill 

Total 


50 
120 


100 
170 


160 
210 


230 
240 


305 
270 


380 
295 


455 


Total 


85 


165 


250 


330 


495 


660 


825 


320 


Open stope: 

Mine 

Mill 


65 
35 


100 
50 


140 
60 


175 
70 


260 

85 


340 
100 


NC 
NC 

NC 


170 


270 


370 


470 


575 


675 


775 


Total 


100 


150 


200 


245 


345 


440 





NC Not calculated; beyond the limits of the data. 
'All numbers are rounded to the nearest unit of 5. 
2 Position shifts per 24-h day, 8 h per shift 



INT.-BU.0F MINES,PGH.,PA. 28393 



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LEGEND 
Region boundaries 

Roads 
10 Escalation factors 

Note: Escalation (actors are shown as dotted lines of 
equal cost and as centers ot cells that extend 
half-way to adjoining cells. 



o o 




FIGURE A-1.— Alaska capital cost factors. 



